UK re-arrests two men over Fairford air base plot, police call Iranian state involvement highly likely, bombers that struck Iran have already flown home from the Gloucestershire runway

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Terror Cops Re-Arrest Two Men in Relation to Alleged Iranian Air Base Plot breitbart.com

UK counterterrorism police have re-arrested two men — a 24-year-old British national and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian citizen — on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service in an alleged plot against RAF Fairford, the US-run air base in Gloucestershire about 100 miles west of London. Both had been arrested last month, along with five others, and released on bail for lack of evidence. The rearrests were announced on October 20 under Section 3 of the National Security Act.

"This is very much a live investigation, and our evidence gathering continues, but at this time our position remains the same; we consider it highly likely that there is Iranian state involvement," said Laurence Taylor, head of the National Counter Terrorism Policing unit, adding that detectives are still examining "what that level of involvement was and the ambition behind it."

The case began on September 27, when a local farmer reported three suspicious vehicles heading toward the base perimeter. Police evacuated 85 nearby houses while an explosive team examined the vans; they found gasoline but no explosives. Seven men, all in their 20s, were eventually arrested, all then bailed. Two were formally charged the week before the announcement. None of the names have been released. The prime minister told lawmakers the plot was "almost certainly" directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard; Iran denies involvement, and its ambassador to London, Seyed Ali Mousavi, accused the British government of having no evidence.

The target explains the alarm. The Pentagon had used RAF Fairford to fly bombing missions into Iran during this year's conflict — and days after the initial arrests, the base's entire bomber wing was evacuated back to the United States, unannounced. MI5 director general Ken McCallum, speaking at Thames House on October 13, said Iranian and Russian activity on British soil has been expanding over the past year, including at Jewish sites and harder military targets, with more than 50 people arrested over Iran-linked plots in the past twelve months.

The bombers are gone. The investigation into who was sent to their runway is still here.